All in the Family - Part XI
by Walrus
Summary: Fifteen years after their marriage an old enemy threatens those Lee and Amanda love.


"Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. I retain rights to the plot, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.  
  
All in the Family  
  
  
Part XI  
  
Margarita stared at her face in the bathroom mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy and her nose was swollen and raw. Lowering her face to the sink Margarita splashed cold water into her eyes and tried to regain her composure. "Why do I let him do this to me?" she asked her reflection. "When will I learn?"  
  
Walking back into her room Margarita sank onto the bed and attempted to figure out where it had all gone so horribly wrong. She knew all too well what Assi planned on doing to Jamie and Elizabeth. It was one part of this job that she had never been comfortable with. Margarita had joined Assi's operation fresh out of college. She was young and idealistic. Assi had spoken at a meeting of students near her college and she had been instantly taken with him. She was so drawn to the young "revolutionary," as Assi referred to himself, that she would have done anything to get close to him. It all started with small insignificant jobs. Assi always cloaked his terrorism in nationalist talk, and for a time Margarita really did believe that the things they did were for the good of her country. Yet, as time wore on she compromised more and more of her values and fell deeper and deeper into Assi's organization. She knew the truth, but the only way she could even continue to look at herself in the mirror was to continue believing the thin redirect that Assi spewed at anyone willing to listen. Yet today, something in her had snapped. As Assi had belittled her with a look of total contempt in his eyes, Margarita saw clearly for the first time in years.  
  
Now, as she sat on her bed heartbroken and alone Margarita slowly began to face facts. She hated the things Assi did, and hated the part that she had had in them. It was time for her to do what she could to make amends. She had helped get Jamie and Elizabeth into this mess and she could get them out. Margarita had been around Assi long enough to know the kind of trouble those two were in. "I've had it," she thought to herself. "The hold that Assi has on me stops here. There's no way I can make up for all the destruction that I've caused in the name of love, but at least I can make a start."  
  
Rising, Margarita dressed slowly and headed out the door. Glancing down the hall toward Assi's quarters her heart ached. "I'm sorry Assi," she mumbled, "but it's clear that you don't want to be with me. At least now maybe I will be able to be with myself."  
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An hour after Francine had brought the picture into their office; Lee and Amanda were once again alone. Francine had gone back into the bullpen to try and track down the drug store where the photo had been developed. Maybe they would get lucky and someone at that drug store would remember Addi or Assi. It wasn't much of a lead, but at this point it was all they had.   
  
Lee racked his brain desperately trying to come up with some sort of a plan. The only problem was, with no idea where Addi was holding Jamie and Elizabeth there was little he could do except sit on his hands and wait for a break. 'Damn!' he swore to himself. He hated feeling helpless, and this was about as helpless as he had felt since Addi Birol had taken Amanda all those years ago. 'I swear when I get my hand on that man...' the threat trailed off in his mind as Jamie's face floated before his eyes. Lee knew that if he was this afraid, then his wife must be in hell. He looked up and glanced at his wife's tight form. She was still hunched over the few repots that they had received throughout the morning, but he could tell that she was no longer paying them much attention.  
  
"Hey," Lee spoke softly as he approached his wife and slowly began massaging her shoulders. He wanted nothing more than to take this pain away from her. "It's going to be all right. You said it yourself, Elizabeth's good. She can take care of herself and of Jamie." Not quite sure how much of it he really believed, Lee made an attempt at his trademark optimism almost without thinking.  
  
"I know," Amanda replied in a weak voice. "It's just that Jamie's my child. I know I get emotional when I deal with our agents, but I can handle that. I know that each one of these men and women knew what they were getting into when they signed up. Jamie didn't get to make that choice."  
  
"I'm sorry," Lee mumbled unsure what else to say. They had kept the agency away from their children for so long, and now both of their worlds had collided with a devastating force. Even after all these years of marriage Lee couldn't think of anything to say to Amanda that didn't sound trite. He desperately wanted to tell her that it would be all right. But the truth was, he had no way of knowing if it was going to be all right and Amanda knew that as much as he did.  
  
"Lee! Amanda!" Francine burst into their office. Under any other circumstances the sight of Francine Desmond in anything other than the perfect designer outfit, with perfectly styled hair, and perfectly applied makeup would have been almost funny. She stood before them with bags under her eyes and a gray tint to her skin that spoke of one too many cups of coffee and one too many hours under the Agency's fluorescent lighting. Yet, all Lee and Amanda saw was the small hint of hope in her eyes that hadn't been there before.  
  
"Do you have something?" Lee asked trying to keep the hope out of his own voice. There was no need to get his or Amanda's hopes up until they had something concrete.  
  
"I'm not sure," Francine started. "There is a woman upstairs who claims to be one of Birol's associates. I don't know the whole story, but apparently she wants to talk."  
  
"Why?" Amanda asked skeptically.   
  
"Like I said, I'm not sure. Mrs. Ingles from the desk just called and I came straight here. It could be a setup, but Mrs. Ingles said that the girl looks like she's had it pretty rough, it could be legit."  
  
"Well, there's only one way to find out. Francine, set up interrogation room three, I want to talk to her." As he spoke Lee moved from behind Amanda and turned on a monitor in the wall that allowed them to observe the visitor. Even on the small surveillance screen her face looked drawn and sad. "If this is a setup, Addi's got some pretty good actors working for him now," Lee observed.  
  
"Lee," Amanda said searching the girl's face. "Let me talk to her. She looks pretty upset and you might scare her. Let me try. A little class C?" Amanda suggested with the first hint of a smile Lee had seen since their early morning call.  
  
"I don't know..." Lee started.  
  
"I agree with Amanda," Francine cut in a small smile of hope brightening her features as well. "This girl looks like she could use a little handholding and some TLC. That's not exactly your strong suit anymore, now is it Scarecrow?"  
  
"All right," Lee resigned. "Give it a go, but be careful. She looks harmless, but you never know. This could be a setup. Watch your step."  
  
"Be careful," Amanda muttered rolling her eyes as she rose out of her chair and followed Francine toward the interrogation room. "Aren't I always?"  
  
Lee gave Amanda a tight smile and shook his head. Turning off the monitor he followed the women out of the room shutting the door behind him. "It's not much," he thought. "But sometimes in this business 'not much' is all we need."  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
